15 - Cinema: from foreign import to global brand

Summary

Cinema arrived in China as a foreign import a little over a century ago. Today, 'Chinese cinema' travels the world as a culturally defined national brand. The turnaround can be traced quite precisely. It originated with the breakthrough screening of Yellow Earth [Huang Tudi], directed by Chen Kaige and shot by Zhang Yimou, at the 1985 Hong Kong International Film Festival. This launched the Fifth Generation of Chinese films and filmmakers as an arthouse line for the 'Chinese cinema' brand. (The term 'Fifth Generation' is generally understood as referring to the 1982 graduates of the Beijing Film Academy.) Unlike other export moments, such as Bruce Lee in the 1970s, Yellow Earth opened the door for various kinds of Chinese films. The works of Taiwan New Cinema directors such as Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien found themselves on the same arthouse shelves as those of the Fifth Generation. Nearby, Hong Kong action films associated with John Woo and stars such as Chow Yun-Fat established a cult niche alongside the Bruce Lee kung fu corner. More recently, Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon [Wohu Canglong, 2000] has taken the martial arts blockbuster out of the niche market and into the multiplex theatres.